Trump-aligned Republicans make noncitizen voting – already illegal in federal elections – a top 2024 target
CNN
Voters in eight states soon will decide whether to change their constitutions to explicitly ban voting by noncitizens, part of a multipronged effort by allies of Donald Trump to raise the unlikely specter of foreigners casting ballots in November’s elections to throw the race to his Democratic opponent.
Voters in eight states soon will decide whether to change their constitutions to explicitly ban voting by noncitizens, part of a multipronged effort by allies of Donald Trump to raise the unlikely specter of foreigners casting ballots in November’s elections to throw the race to his Democratic opponent. North Carolina, a potential presidential battleground, is the most recent state to put a citizen-only voting measure on the fall ballot – joining Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin, another key swing state in the race for the White House. It’s illegal for people who aren’t US citizens to vote in federal contests, and experts say it rarely happens, given that violators face imprisonment and deportation. But Republican policymakers have pointed to moves by individual cities to give legal noncitizen immigrants the authority to vote on municipal matters to stoke concerns about foreign infiltration of US elections. The growing citizen-only voting movement marries two issues Republicans hope will animate their base this fall: concerns about election fraud and illegal immigration. The Republican-controlled US House voted Wednesday to require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. In recent weeks, top Republican officials who oversee elections in Tennessee and Ohio have flagged potential noncitizens on their voting rolls, and Louisiana has enacted a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. On Monday, Republicans approved a draft party platform that includes a call for proof of citizenship in voting. The platform will be taken up next week at the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee.
